15 Days of the Republican Government Shutdown: By the Numbers

After failing to undermine the Affordable Care Act more than 40 times, Republicans continue to hold the economy hostage with their political gimmicks. Because House Republicans have refused to bring the Senate’s clean bill to the Floor for a vote to reopen the entire government, the Republican government shutdown has continued into its third week. The GOP’s government shutdown is having a negative impact on all aspects of the country, including the economy, American families, health research, national security and disaster preparedness.

Here’s a look at the Republican government shutdown:

15: Number of days of the Republican government shutdown

17: Number of years since the last government shutdown

$1.4 billion: The cost of the 1995-96 government shutdown

$55 billion: Estimated cost to the economy of a 3-4 week shutdown, according to Moody’s Analytics

1.4 percentage points: Amount fourth quarter GDP could be reduced if government remains shut down for three or four weeks, according to Moody’s economist Mark Zandi

500,000: Estimated number of federal employees not working due to the government shutdown

$160 million: Cost to the economy per weekday from furloughed workers, according to HIS Inc.

The Impacts Are Far Reaching:

ECONOMY

Bruce Josten, executive vice president for government affairs at the Chamber of Commerce: “The immediate, tangible effects of the shutdown on the overall economy may be modest at first, but they will accumulate over time … The intangible effects, however, are worse and may arise from growing unease in the business community that the federal government cannot even execute its most basic responsibilities, let alone work together on other pressing issues for the country, such as immigration reform, entitlement reform, and comprehensive tax reform.” [The Hill, 10/3]

VETERANS

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki: “The momentum achieved over the past six months [in reducing a backlog] has now stalled with the government shutdown,” [Washington Post, 10/8]

HEALTH

Center for Disease Control Director Dr. Tom Frieden: “I usually don't lose sleep despite the threats that we face, but I am losing sleep because we don't know if we'll be able to find and stop things that might kill people,” [CBS News, 10/1]

Marj Rosner, vice president and sales manager at Long & Foster, a real estate firm: “Most people don’t really think about, ‘Well my loan is going to be underwritten by a federal agency,’ but the government has a huge imprint here.” [Washington Post, 10/4]

An increasing number of Republicans say they want to reopen the government, but the extreme right wing of their party continue to hold the economy hostage to their failed political posturing. House Democrats continue urging Republican leadership to work with us to reopen the government and ensure America can pay its bills so that Congress can negotiate a long-term, balanced, bipartisan fiscal solution.